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Bear Watching Mayhem In Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks

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Judging from this photo (yes, that's a grizzly), and the accompanying video, is it any wonder there are bear-human conflicts in the national parks?

Editor's note: Bears in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks have been in the news a bit this summer, both because of their behavior and the behavior of tourists watching the bears. The following column, which Todd Wilkinson posted on his Wildlife Art Journal site the other day, will have you scratching your head over how there haven't been more bear-human incidents this summer.

There has been a debate raging this summer in the northern Rockies over restrictions placed on how people should be allowed to observe wildlife in national parks.  Given the enormous popularity of two mother grizzly bears and cubs in Grand Teton National Park—and huge crowds gathered along the roadside—stipulations were put in place that require people to stay at least 100 yards away from bruins at all times.

What it means is that if a bear indicates that it wishes to approach the roadside or cross to the other side, people need to move.  This has caused a backlash from professional wildlife photographers.

While the vast, vast majority of park visitors are well behaved, there are always defiant individuals who venture too close, throw food to wildlife or simply behave cluelessly.

Fortunately, grizzlies exhibit a high level of tolerance.  In this video, passed along by Yellowstone officials, one doesn't need an active imagination to recognize what could go wrong were a bruin to suddenly act aggressively.  NOTE:  After you watch this video, click on the corresponding 24-second footage titled "man photographing grizzly bear mother and two cubs."  The level of  stupidity will take your breath away.

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Comments

Nothing infuriates me more than idiots in the wilderness. Are we going to start having to test people before allowing them into our National Parks? Pass the test, you can enter; flunk, go back to How to Behave Around Wildlife 101 class. The sad thing is, we don't put bar the idiots from the parks--but if something happens, the bears get put down. Just breaks my heart.


The tough reality about these encounters, as thrilling as they may be for visitors, is that the bears often wind up losing. Should one charge at folks who venture too close or pose a threat to their cubs, she runs the risk of being caught and put down. Our zoo here in Memphis obtained three orphaned grizz cubs from WY (near YSNP) because of that very thing, their mother was euthanized as the result of an act of aggression. It's a delicate balance to maintain, since wildlife spotting is a wonderful part of the park experience. But people need to respect the wildness of these creatures and realize that awesome can morph into awful in the blink of an eye.  


I have seen this exact same thing happen this summer in Yosemite Nat'l park ... In that instance it was also a mother bear with two cubs, and people were approaching within 50 yards of them. I understand people being excited by seeing wildlife but they need to realize that the wildlife do not share their enthusiasm...in fact the wildlife is most likely scared.


people have a huge misconception about the animals in the park. my family was at yellowstone earlier this year when the couple was attacked, and the man killed by a mother grizzly. a few days later, we were on a trail ride and one of the people riding told the guide, "well they were on a trail". do people really think that the animals don't use the trails as well as well as humans. i guess some people think that the trails are guarded by an imaginary line that the animals will not cross. just unbelievable.


It's as interesting to me to see the incredulous comments about park visitor behavior as it is the visitor actions.  There has always been a degree of outrageous behavior but I believe it's worse now with the direction of the culture away from everyday or working experience in the resource fields and the corresponding over the top demonizing of many that do make their living connecting to the resource in real ways on a daily basis.  
In the private sector many Range Tech's start out after college filled with judgements and theories working with ranchers and others are changed by the experience but are locked in financially and career wise to environmental agendas pushed by environmental groups and their superiors.  A bit of real world knowledge would contribute greatly to the "wild culture" and reduce the absolute disconnected dangerous behavior by many visiting our parks hanging out with those things wild.  It's hard to do in mass but for those most connected and committed to giving/allowing the people the opportunity to get a real sense of wildness at the same time stirring their survival skills, I give great praise acknowledging their own blessings by their individual actions that add so much to people and those things wild.  


We were there this summer and I watched in amazement as a father led his daughter up the hill to see a bear up close.  They got within 15 feet of the grizzly, and could not possibly make it to safety if the bear decided to charge.  It was like watching a father take his child to slaughter.  Som
thing about fresh air makes adults get really stupid.


I've said it before & I'll say it again...it's not Disneyland and those are NOT audioanimatronics!   I have a very healthy respect for the wildlife in our Parks.  From squirrels (cute, but may carry plague) to bears/wolves/bison (huge and can really hurt me!).  I am not even tempted to push the envelope & get too close.  People who get too close to large critters would probably have enough smarts not to get too close to a angry/unstable person with a firearm, why don't they understand that the dangers are the same; both are unpredictable and dangerous.


Folks, Yellowstone is NOT A ZOO! there are no fences between you and the animals and the animals are WILD. You are intruding into their habitat and they see you as a threat to their survival. So many people deserve to become bear food these days, no wonder we hear of deaths all the time in our National Parks.


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